


Car Share

by gillyandersons



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F, car share
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-25 10:45:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10762668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillyandersons/pseuds/gillyandersons
Summary: The car share AU that nobody asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Car Share on BBC, Peter Kay should sue me for how terrible this is. I am sorry.

Bernie is in the middle of arguing with the Sat Nav when she realises that she has in fact passed this house  _ three  _ times in the past few minutes already. 

“Stupid bloody thing!” she grumbles as it yells at her to do a U-turn down this one way street. She hasn't had her morning coffee yet, which is bad enough in and of itself, but she's also nervous about picking Serena up too. And the last thing she needs is the Sat Nav taking her on a wild goose chase. 

She wants to scream. She's already late because she's been driving around in circles for the past ten minutes. She could kill Hanssen for forcing this car share upon them. Upon  _ her.  _

The Sat Nav is telling Bernie to make another left, so, reluctantly, she takes it and feels a wave of relief wash over her as she  _ finally  _ pulls into Serena’s road. 

Bernie pulls up outside Serena’s house, grumbling a string of expletives as the Sat Nav chirps that she's reached her destination. It's a nice house, Bernie notices. It's big, but not too big, with a well-kept front garden. It's obvious that Serena is house proud and takes the time and care keeping the place in check. Something which Bernie can't seem to relate to. Her car sits untouched on the gravel driveway, and Bernie wonders why she's being forced into taking Serena to work when the other woman has her own perfectly good car. But Hanssen has said it would be good for team morale, or whatever. 

For someone who has spent most of her adult life in the army, Bernie hates team building activities. 

If she had worked at Holby City Hospital for more than a month then she probably would have protested Hanssen, but she's already had a fair few run ins with him. So she had smiled and accepted a) her move down to AAU and b) to car share with said head of AAU. 

She briefly contemplates if she should honk the horn to let Serena know she's arrived, but it's barely 7am and she doesn't want to risk waking the entire street in the process. 

But then, as if on cue, Serena exits her house. She offers a weak smile and a small wave as she walks towards Bernie's car, and Bernie is taken aback at just how  _ beautiful _ the other woman is. She's met her once, maybe twice, in passing. And she's never  _ really  _ looked at her. Never been this close to her to really appreciate just how breathtakingly beautiful she is. 

The lump in Bernie's throat gets thicker the closer Serena approaches, and Bernie tells herself it's her nerves due to being in a car for half an hour with a total stranger, and not because the stranger is the most beautiful woman she's ever seen. 

Serena approaches the passenger side door and pulls on the handle a few times, Bernie watching dumbstruck for a moment before she realises that the door is locked. She mouths an apology as she presses the unlock button and Serena gets in the car. 

“Morning” the brunette smiles, far too happy for 6:47 in the morning. Bernie offers her a small smile in response, watching as Serena puts her seatbelt on. 

“Clunk click, every trip” Bernie says and cringes immediately, sounding  _ way  _ too much like her own mother for her liking. She can feel her cheeks burn a shocking shade of red.  _ Why _ did she just say that? She wants the ground to swallow her whole. This is going to be a  _ long  _ journey. 

Serena chuckles and nods in agreement. 

“Did you find me okay?” Serena asks, trying to lighten the slightly awkward atmosphere between them. 

“Oh yeah, easy” Bernie smiles, blatantly lying. “Straight to the front door” she adds. The Sat Nav had taken her down a dead end twice and had her driving around in circles. But Serena didn't need to know that. 

“Oh good” Serena says as Bernie pulls out into the road, hoping she can remember the way to the main road from here because she is  _ not  _ putting the fucking Sat Nav back on. 

They drive for a while, the radio low and filling the awkward silence between them. Serena says nothing the first time Bernie drives the wrong way, ignores the blonde grumbling swear words under her breath. But after the third wrong turn, Serena feels the need to intervene. 

“It's quicker if you take the next left” she says casually, and sure enough Bernie literally swings her car around the corner. Serena fights the urge to grab for the handle above the door, not wanting to seem rude. 

She can't help but wonder where Bernie learned to drive, or how she even passed her test, because she is sure that she's not going to make it to work in one piece at this rate. 

“Thanks” Bernie says, looking totally lost. 

“Take the second right, then straight down and turn left at the end of the road” Serena says, reading the confused expression on Bernie's face. 

Bernie does as instructed and within two minutes they're back on the main road. She knows where she is here. Serena notes that Bernie's driving ability increases  _ tremendously  _ once they get onto the main road. It's long and straight and she is now driving at the proper speed limit, as opposed to 10mph  _ above  _ it. 

“Considering that I’ve been in the army since I was 18, I've got a  _ terrible _ sense of direction” Bernie says and Serena can't stop the snort that escapes her. 

Serena bites back the urge to laugh and quip something like  _ you don't say _ and instead opts for the safer option of “How did you find me so easily?”. 

Bernie’s grip on the wheel tightens. She licks her lips before she turns to face Serena, only taking her eyes off the road for a second. 

“I er,” Bernie laughs nervously, her cheeks burning rouge with embarrassment again. “I might have gotten lost say…  _ five  _ times”. 

Serena feels bad. She doesn't know why, it's not technically her fault. But she feels bad. 

“I’m sorry” she says. And she really is. 

“Not your fault” Bernie shrugs, speeding up so she can overtake a truck in the lane beside her that's trying to overtake her. “It's that stupid Sat Nav! Marcus got it years ago, I swear it's almost as old as Charlotte. Took me down a dead end  _ twice _ and told me to do a U-turn down a one way!”. 

“I think it's safe to say I owe you a coffee once we get to work”. 

“ _ Hanssen  _ owes us both a coffee” Bernie scoffs and Serena nods. That they can both agree on. 

“Honestly,  _ what  _ was he thinking with this damn car share idea?” Serena admonishes and Bernie hums in agreement. “Although he's paired Jac and Ric together so it's only a matter of  _ days _ before one of them kills the other”. 

Bernie lets out a honk of laughter. She's had ego clashes with both Jac and Ric, only partly her own fault, and she can't imagine them lasting very long in this situation. 

“Sorry” Serena says, turning to Bernie, unable to take it any longer. “But do you mind if we change the station?” She motions to the radio. Bernie hasn't even really registered it was even on, she's been too caught up in trying to find Serena and then distracted by the damned woman herself. “But this sorry excuse for music is absolutely mind numbing!”. 

“Be my guest” Bernie offers, watching as Serena fiddles with the dial whilst they're at a red light. “Cameron, my son, borrowed the car last night so that racket is on him”. 

“Thank God” Serena says. “I thought you had a truly awful taste in music!”.  

“Ah,” Bernie laughs. “That's still yet to be disproven”. 

Bernie has never really been one for music. Especially not what's considered cool and or what's modern. She'd missed out on so much of it being in the army. But quite often she finds herself feeling as though she isn't really missing much. She likes what she likes, mostly what Cameron and Charlotte deem “old people music”. Some would argue she’s set in her ways. 

Serena fiddles with the dials for a few moments, muttering a running commentary under her breath about how terrible the music is today, and she uses the word music  _ lightly _ , and Bernie can't help but smile. Her dry wit and dark humour matches Bernie's and it's so nice and refreshing to find somebody as sarcastic as she is. 

Eventually Serena settles on a station she likes. The presenter says they play “classics”. Bernie isn't exactly sure what the station is, and she hopes that classics means songs from the 70s and 80s and not actual classical music, because she would rather  _ die _ . Serena looks like the type who would listen to classical music. And there's nothing wrong with that, Bernie reasons with herself. Some pieces are really rather beautiful, but she would still rather stick her head in a blender  

She's pleasantly surprised when the first few bars of  _ Everybody Wants To Rule The World  _ by Tears For Fears starts playing. 

“Oh I haven't heard this song in years!” Bernie grins, turning the volume up a few notches. 

It takes her back to her youth. Drunk and sweaty nights in crowded, smoky nightclubs. Some of her favourite memories include drunkenly singing this song at the top of her lungs. 

Bernie taps her fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat of the song, and she finds herself humming along. She doesn't realise she's doing it, doesn't realise that Serena is staring at her, fighting the urge to smile as Bernie starts to sing along. 

_ “It's my own desire, it's my own remorse”  _ Bernie starts. Quietly mumbling at first, but getting louder and more coherent as she goes on.  _ “Help me to decide, help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure, nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world”.  _

Bernie's not exactly going to be the next Beyoncé, Serena decides. If anything she sounds more like a strangled cat. But Serena finds she quite enjoys listening to Bernie sing. Even if she hasn't hit a single note yet. 

The blonde starts singing the next verse, but then she seems to catch on to what she is doing and stops mid sentence, her eyes widening. 

“Don't stop on my account” Serena smiles, watching as Bernie becomes visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry” Bernie says, swallowing thickly. “I didn't even realise-”. 

“-it's fine” Serena promises her, smiling reassuringly. “You have a lovely voice” she lies, hoping she sounds sincere enough for Bernie to buy it. 

She doesn't, and instead lets out her trademark honking laugh that Serena is very quickly growing to love. 

“Never play poker, Ms. Campbell” Bernie quirks her brow with a smirk. 

“Okay, fine” Serena sighs. “You sound terrible. But that shouldn't stop you, and neither should I”. 

“You sound like my husband” Bernie says with a sadness laced beneath her tone. And Serena feels like she's struck a nerve - she really didn't mean to. She barely knows Bernie and yet the banter seems to flow so easily between them. 

The song comes to an end and the next one starts playing right after. Serena grins as she hears the iconic first few bars play. She turns it up just in time to start singing along, using the water bottle from her handbag as a pretend microphone. 

“ _ I come home in the morning light, my mother says when you gonna live your life ri-ight?”  _ Serena starts, loud and so out of tune that it causes Bernie to turn and face her out of shock. “ _ Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones, and girls they wanna have fu-un”  _ Serena dramatically sings along, bringing her free hand up to clutch at her chest, eliciting a laugh from Bernie. “ _ Ohh girls just want to have fun”.  _

Serena is so into the song, making an idiot of herself and yet not even caring because she can hear Bernie chuckle beside her, that she doesn't realise they've pulled into the road along the hospital. She sings along, trying to coax Bernie into singing with her. Bernie manages to resist with a laugh for all of 30 seconds. 

Serena’s belting out the middle of the chorus when Bernie decides to join in. 

“ _ Ohh girls just wanna have fu-un”.  _

They are just shouting at this point, attracting strange looks and attention from several people walking past Bernie's car, but neither of them notice. And even if they were to notice, neither of them would care. 

Bernie has pulled into her regular parking spot by this point and shut off the engine, and now she's facing Serena fully, still badly singing along to Cyndi Lauper. 

_ “Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her away from the rest of the world”  _ Serena doesn't realise that she sings those particular lyrics directly  _ to  _ Bernie, doesn't realise she is staring at her, or that Bernie is staring right back at her. Neither of them realise Hanssen is stood in front of Bernie's car, watching them through the windscreen. His arms are crossed and there is a knowing smirk plastered on his face. “ _ I wanna be the one to walk in the sun, oh girls they wanna have fun. Oh girls just wanna have fun” _ . 

Bernie is the first to notice their boss watching them. She stops singing abruptly and coughs to get Serena's attention. Serena doesn't seem phased by Henrik looming. Instead she simply cocks her perfectly shaped eyebrow and continues to sing, without music now thanks to Bernie turning the radio off, and gets out the car. 

Bernie can barely look Hanssen in the eye, but Serena finds the whole situation hilarious. 

“So did you girls ‘have fun’?” he asks as the three of them walk into the hospital together. 

“As much fun as two almost strangers can have after being forced into a tiny car together for half an hour” Serena says, winking at Bernie and knocking the breath from the blonde's lungs. “We decided you owe us  _ both _ coffee, by the way” Serena adds, motioning towards Pulses. 

The taller man simply nods. Had it been anyone else speaking to Henrik like that, Bernie thinks he would have them up on disciplinary. But Serena is so charming that she can get away with just about anything. 

**“I’m glad to see you two get along so well” he says, coming to stand at the back of the line in the coffee shop. “Seems like Ms. Wolfe is going to fit right into AAU”. **


	2. Chapter 2

Serena tells herself that she's waiting by her front door as not to keep Bernie waiting. So they don't hit any traffic again on their way in.

She ignores the fact her heart pounds every time she hears the muffled rumbling of a car engine in the distance. Pretends she isn't pining for the blonde trauma surgeon she's known all of three days.

Her phone buzzes and Serena practically jumps out of her skin and sprints out the door when she sees that it's Bernie texting her, telling her that she is outside.

She's never been a morning person. Has only ever really had her job or Elinor to get up for in the mornings. And more recently Jason. 

But now, somehow, without her even realising it, she has got a certain big mach army medic to get out of bed for. 

Serena has to remind herself that this is only their _third_ day working together.

She waits for a moment or two before she opens her door. Doesn't want to seem _too_ eager. But also, she cannot physically wait any longer.  

Stepping out onto her drive, Serena grins as she catches sight of Bernie in her car. Bernie looks half asleep. Her messy hair is pulled back into a low ponytail and Serena's mouth goes dry at how _beautiful_ Bernie looks.  

Of course, she blames the way her body is currently acting ( _re_ acting) on the stupid juice fast Jason has forced her to do and _not_ the fact she is attracted to the other woman.

“Morning!” Serena chirps, sliding into the passenger seat. Bernie grunts in response and smiles. She looks tired, Serena notes. But no less beautiful. Bernie mumbles something which sounds like Morning and turns her attention back to the road. 

The radio is on low, the sound coming out an almost tinny hum. They sit in a companionable silence for a few minutes as Bernie drives, listening to the weather report on the radio. It’s going to shower on and off all day and Bernie groans aloud because it's _just her luck the_ **_one_ ** _day she doesn't bring a coat or jumper to work, it's going to bloody rain!_

She's wearing a lovely white blouse today and Serena can't help but stare. Because Bernie looks stupidly beautiful. She looks good in a blouse, like really _good_.  

The radio starts playing a song that Serena hasn't heard before, although she recognises that it's ABBA as soon as they start singing.

**_I've always hated my room, it's so gloomy and dreary. Always the dark, for the windows just face the back yard._ **

“Oh I love this song!” Bernie announces, turning the radio up slightly as she does, and, like she has every other car journey, starts singing along. Suddenly wide awake and exuding all the energy in the world.

“ ** _So I can't understand how it's happened, how everything's changing. This old dirty ceiling seems a little whiter, when you walked into the room it all got so much brighter”_ **.  

There's no shame between them now, they're both quite happy and comfortable to sing along to the radio in one another's presence. Serena would never (soberly) _dare_ sing in front of anyone else, aside from maybe Ellie. And it's nice. It's silly and carefree and a nice escape from the serious nature of their jobs. At work they are both professionals, both well respected in their fields and on the ward.  

But in the car they are free to do whatever they want. And it's nice, Serena smiles. Because she's never had this before.

The chorus kicks in, and Bernie starts full on belting out the lyrics. 

 **_“You must have a lovelight, everything around you is lovelight”_ **.  

And that's when Serena starts really listening to the words. Because yes, whilst this song is what the kids would deem a ‘bop’, the lyrics seem to hit her hard. Especially with Bernie singing them. Although she doesn't quite know _why_ at that very moment.  

**_“Maybe even when you're not there, the lovelight, everything around you is lovelight. You're shining like a star in the night. I won't let you out of my sight. I don't want to lose you, I don't want to lose your lovelight”._ **

Serena sits quietly, listening as Bernie sings along to the rest of the song. She's picked up the gist of the chorus and hums along softly whenever she can, but is more than happy to sit and listen to Bernie sing along dramatically. Serena makes a mental note to find that song later on.

“I had my first kiss to that song” Bernie confesses once it has finished and Serena laughs instantly in response. 

“What?!”. 

“I was 14” Bernie laughs. “It was the school disco. I fancied the pants off this boy all through school and it was like a washing machine. _Awful_ ” Bernie grimaces at the memory and Serena chuckles along.  

Serena busies herself with taking a drink from the God awful juice Jason is making her drink, pushes down the sudden feeling of jealousy that's crept up within her. 

“You can put your bottle in the cup holder” Bernie offers after a moment of Serena sitting holding it. 

“Thanks” Serena says, placing the bottle in the circular hole. It doesn't quite fit, and she doesn't hear Bernie tell her not to force it, as she is too busy doing just that, and within a second, the red liquid is squirting out and covering Bernie, and her crisp white blouse, in the process. 

The car comes to an immediate stop in the middle of the road as Bernie processes what's just happened. 

“Oh my God” Serena says, wide eyed and incredibly embarrassed. “I am _so_ sorry!”.  

Serena pulls a tissue from her pocket and awkwardly starts dabbing at Bernie’s shirt, feeling like she is fighting a losing battle. 

“What the-” Bernie sniffs, her nose scrunching in disgust as she wipes at her mouth. “Your wine tastes _horrendous_ ”.  

“It's not wine” Serena sighs, as Bernie snatches the tissue from her as starts rubbing, in vein, at her sodden shirt. “It's beetroot juice. Jason heard about all the benefits it supposedly has and has forced me to drink it. Oh God, Bernie, I am _so_ sorry! I’m mortified!”.  

“Marcus bought me this shirt” is all Bernie says and Serena feels all the more worse. She wants to cry. She really does. “I never liked it” Bernie says, the hint of a mischievous grin in her face. “It was always too stiff and starchy. And white is _not_ my colour, I mean you've seen how messy I am” Serena nods, because as mortified as she is, she can't disagree with Bernie on that one. Their office currently looks like a bomb site.  

“Bernie, I really and truly am _sorry”_ Serena sighs and Bernie just shrugs.  

“It's fine” she smiles. “Honestly” and it's so real and sincere that Serena feels slightly better. 

“I’ll pay for the dry cleaning” Serena offers and Bernie only rolls her eyes in response. 

“Marcus can pay if he wants it dry cleaned. I don't care either way” Bernie shrugs before she turns slightly and un-clips her seat belt. “I've got to take it off though, I can't stand beetroot and the smell is making me want to throw up”. Bernie adds as she begins to unbutton the shirt and take it off. 

And Serena doesn't mean to stare. But she cannot physically take her eyes away from Bernie. She had known Bernie would be lean, muscular. That much is obvious from her being fully clothed. But Jesus Christ. She takes off the sodden shirt and is wearing nothing but a black vest top underneath. 

Her arms are long, the muscles well toned. She's covered in various scrapes and scars, both from her time serving in the military and her life in general. And Serena is curious. Wants to know the story, no matter how mundane, behind every single one. Wants to trace all Bernie's freckles like constellations. Her eyes wander up Bernie's arms and settle on her chest. Her stomach tightens at her defined collarbones. The top of her scar pokes out ever so slightly in the middle of her sternum. 

She realises she must be staring, because Bernie's hand comes up to cover the scar - makes it seem like it's not a direct reaction. Like her hand is just coming to rest on her chest naturally. 

And Serena feels guilty. A) because she was staring and B) because Bernie is obviously self conscious about her scar. She shouldn't be, Serena wants to tell her. That she is so incredibly beautiful no matter what. That scar is _nothing_ to be ashamed of. She got it fighting to save her life, to save the lives of thousands of people. That without the scar, she wouldn't even be here right now.  

But Serena bites her tongue. Instead she changes the subject to stop the air getting so awkwardly thick neither of them can breathe. 

She doesn't want Bernie to feel uncomfortable in her presence. About anything, whether that be singing along to the radio or showing her scars. 

“If anyone can pull off a beetroot stained blouse, I think it's you” Serena smiles and Bernie snorts in response. “I’m serious!”. 

“Thank you” Bernie says with a grin, any awkwardness between them long gone and forgotten about.

Bernie starts driving again, turning up the heater to keep herself warm as she does. The early morning sun illuminates her skin in such a delicious way. She looks so soft and inviting and Serena wants to reach out and touch her. But she doesn't. It takes everything in her power _not_ to reach out and ghost her fingers across Bernie's skin.  

The drive starts off good, they chat about silly, insignificant things. And everything seems to be going okay, until Bernie drives over a speed bump in the hospital car park (a little too fast) and she's once again covered in beetroot juice. 

“You have got to be _kidding_ me!” Bernie growls, sticky and dripping red juice. Serena blushing a fierce shade of red as she reapplied the cap to the now empty bottle of juice.  

She's drenched, and this time Bernie finds it more annoying than funny. She's not annoyed at Serena, doesn't think she ever _could_ be annoyed at the other woman. Just annoyed with the whole situation in general.  

Bernie pulls into her usual parking spot, her vest top soggy and sticking to her. Serena's hiding her head in her hands, willing the ground to swallow her whole, mumbling her most profound apologies over and over again. Bernie turns to the back seat, ready to grab her coat when _shit._  

“Fuck” Bernie grumbles as she finds the back seat empty, remembering she's left her coat at home today. 

Serena looks up, follows Bernie's line of sight. Remembers Bernie had forgotten her coat this morning. Doesn't even have her own to offer her. And Bernie is _covered_ in juice. And whilst yes she could walk into work like that, it's not exactly dignified. Especially when she is still working on her reputation, gaining respect from nurses.  

Bernie puffs out her cheeks as she lets out a deep breath, thinking about the nice warm, _dry_ scrubs waiting for her inside the hospital.  

“Here” Serena says, pulling Bernie from her thoughts. Serena takes off her blouse and hands it to Bernie. 

“Oh no, Serena-”. 

“-just take it, Bern” Serena pleads, the shortening of Bernie's name slipping from her tongue so easily. Filling said blonde with that familiar warm fuzziness she has quickly come to associate with Serena Campbell. 

“Thank you” Bernie smiles gratefully as she accepts the garment. Serena doesn't have long enough to dwell on how sweet and beautiful Bernie's smile is, because Bernie has stripped down to her bra. 

Somehow Serena isn't surprised when she catches a glimpse of plain black. Comfortable and practical. And yet somehow, on Bernie, it's the sexiest thing she has ever seen. 

Bernie changes so quickly, that if Serena had blinked, she would have missed it. She gets a flash of Bernie's scar. It's red and angry and looks sore and her own chest hurts at just the thought of it. At the thought that she very nearly never got the chance at knowing Bernie. 

She feels her eyes fill up with tears and blinks them back as quickly as they came. Pushes those thought away. They're stupid. Bernie is here and that's all that matters. She hopes Bernie has been too busy with doing the buttons up to notice her momentary slip. 

The blouse is massive on Bernie, so big in fact it reminds Serena of Elinor playing dress up in her clothes as a child. Whilst they are the same height more or less, Serena is more curvy than Bernie, and the blouses are big and flowing on even her. 

Bernie buttons the top up and inspects herself in the rear view mirror before she gets out the car. 

“Suits you” Serena grins, looking at Bernie over the roof of her car. “The leopard print” she says with a wink. 

Bernie shoots her a death stare in response. 

Neither of them even think about what turning up in the same car, Bernie wearing a shirt that is so _obviously_ Serena's or the fact that they walk so close together that it looks like they're holding hands. Or how quick and efficient the rumour mill is within the NHS. They don't realise that several nurses and porters are staring at them as they walk in, Serena laughing at something Bernie has just said to her.  

Serena wearing nothing but a vest top. Bernie wearing Serena's leopard print blouse. Serena telling Bernie to head on up to the ward, that she’ll bring them coffee. That Serena squeezes Bernie's forearm as Bernie smiles before they part. 

Ric sits in the corner table at Pulses, tucked away from everyone but with a full scope of the floor and people surrounding him. He smiles. Maybe putting Bernie on AAU was the best decision Hanssen has made in a long time. He had clashed with Bernie right away, but he likes her. A lot, and he respects her on both a personal and professional level. She is a bloody good surgeon, even if she is a little egotistical (who isn't?). And, well, if he is completely honest, he hasn't seen Serena that happy or relaxed in a long time. If ever. He makes a mental note of the way Serena's eyes sparkle around Bernie, the way her smile stretches across her face. The way Bernie watches Serena leave, a lovesick smile slapped across her face as she does. He wonders if either of them realise yet, the impact or effect they're having on one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was wondering, the song is Lovelight by Abba.


End file.
